And What About the Voice of Nick Gilder?

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how did it get so high? just caught "hot child in the city" on steve jones' show on indie 103.1 and noticed -- maybe this has been painfully obvious to everyone else for years but it was a SHOCKING REVELATION to me -- there's not even the slightest trace of maleness in that voice. i mean, that's a chick singing that song, right? does she/he always sing like that?

(i was going to post this on the "inconsequential observations" thread, but i searched and couldn't find a nick gilder thread anywhere, so i figured why not start now?)

(now playing on 103.1: blondie, "(i'm always touched) by your presence dear." she has a lower voice than nick.)

fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 22 November 2004 20:59 (nineteen years ago) link

It was playing in the changing room at my gym the other day and it does indeed amaze . . . .

Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:02 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm sure there's a thread, maybe listed under Sweeney Todd. I'm getting "Server 58% too busy" to search right now.

But yeah, I thought it was a girl singing that song. It seems like most of NG's songs are about sleazy groupie sex & stuff, so maybe that feminine-sounding voice levens the creep factor somewhat.

briania (briania), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:08 (nineteen years ago) link

It's was the era of Spandex pants. 'Nuff said

mottdeterre (mottdeterre), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:40 (nineteen years ago) link

xpost
There is, of course, this thread.

Ken L (Ken L), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:46 (nineteen years ago) link

Really, his voice sounds decidedly butch on HCITC compared to the way it sounds on "Roxy Roller" by Sweeney Todd.

Kent Burt (lingereffect), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 07:14 (nineteen years ago) link

Ha! This was sooo a question that was taunting me for years now?

I remember the music clip from 1978 - sleazy kinda low rent vid intertwined with band in derigur late-70s black gear!

There's a distinct Marc Bolan influence. But... I see his album in secind-hand bins all the time. Did he EVER have any other albums after the one that contained "Hot Child...." though?

herbalizer12 (herbalizer12), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 15:27 (nineteen years ago) link

Are you accusing this guy of not being manly?:
http://www.moonstrucks.com/works_data/selectionseries/imagesnew/nickgilder/nick_gilder_sign.jpg

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 18:38 (nineteen years ago) link

Perhaps the greatest sleazepop lyrics of all time?

Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 18:41 (nineteen years ago) link

...oh, and in further gender-bending, it's worth noting that his follow-up hit was "(She's) One Of The Boys."

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 18:46 (nineteen years ago) link

five years pass...

When I was putting together a mix of my first 7" singles, I downloaded City Nights to get "Hot Child." I still have the record, but no turntable. I was surprised by how good the album is. If the record store had it, it might have been my first album instead of Gary Numan's Pleasure Principle. That might be the better album, but I would have liked Gilder's more at the time. A nice mix of T. Rex, Cheap Trick, The Cars and er, Geddy Lee! Turns out all his first four albums are really good - You Know Who You Are (1977), City Nights (1978), Frequency (1979), Rock America (1980). Collectibles reissued a 2-fer of City Nights & Frequency in 2006, but the others are OOP.

Fastnbulbous, Monday, 26 April 2010 19:21 (thirteen years ago) link

Yeah, I've got a couple of those; I like them a lot, too.

There was also an excellent CD Best Of (12 songs) that came out on Razor & Tie in 2001, though I'm not sure how available that is now.

And if you're looking around for Gilder stuff, don't forget to keep an eye out for music by Sweeney Todd, his '70s glam band with Bryan "Guy" Adams. I've never heard a whole album by them, but their "Roxy Roller"/"Rue De Chance" single from 1976 rules. (Isn't either Sweeney's or Gilder's solo version of "Roxy Roller" on the Runaways soundtrack? Haven't heard that album, but George has mentioned it.)

xhuxk, Monday, 26 April 2010 19:31 (thirteen years ago) link

Yep, it's the first track on the soundtrack -- Gilder's solo version. Sweeney Todd is on my list to hunt down for sure!

Fastnbulbous, Monday, 26 April 2010 19:56 (thirteen years ago) link

twelve years pass...

What is Nick Gilder and Time Machine? Oh, a re-record, I guess.

Wile E. Is President (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 4 May 2022 17:54 (one year ago) link


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